Grand Seiko 130th Anniversary SBGW040

The history of Seiko begins in
1881, when at the age of 22, a young man named Kintaro Hattori opened a small
shop in central Tokyo. This shop, K. Hattori & Co., specialized in the
sales and repair of watches and clocks. 11 years later, the shop moved to a new
location and evolved into the Seikosha Factory for developing clocks and pocket
watches. Mr. Hattori could not fathom the journey that his company would embark
on in the years to come. In his light, Seiko is still striving to achieve his
main goal; the perfection of the world's finest timepiece.

Mr. Hattori passed in 1934. This
was 26 years before the creation of Grand Seiko.
Tsuneya Nakamura, who joined Seiko in 1944, directed the Grand Seiko project
and recognized the importance of perfection. Only Seiko's finest, most
experienced and skilled watchmakers were selected to complete this task. Grand
Seiko's ultimate ambition was to be the most durable, legible, and accurate
timepiece in the world.

Grand Seiko was created in the Suwa
Seikosha factory in Nagano, (central) Japan in 1960 and they are still made in
the Suwa factory today. They spared no expense in the manufacturing of Grand
Seiko. But Seiko's goal was to create the perfect watch, one that surpassed the
highly regarded Swiss Chronometer, no matter the cost. There was very little
profit involved due to all the advances in technology Seiko applied to the
development of this piece. When it was released, retail was around $350,000
yen, close to $1,000 USD at the time, which was very expensive.

The first Grand Seiko debuted with
their in-house 3180 manual winding caliber. With this movement, Seiko truly had
one of the finest quality timepieces in production. Seiko's in house
"GS" Chronometer standard was used in certifying these watches. Each
timepiece was presented with a rating certificate that showed the results of 15
days of testing and bested any Swiss watch.

2011 embraces the 130th Anniversary
of the Seiko Corporation and the founding of Seiko by Kintaro Hattori. To honor
the 130 years of dedication Seiko has brought to perfecting horology, they have
taken one of their most amazing achievements and re-introduced it in a very
special limited edition. SBGW040...

The SBGW040 was one of 3 pieces
introduced in 2011 to commemorate the original Grand Seiko produced in 1960.
The 3 variations of the 130th anniversary piece were made in Stainless Steel (SBGW033),
Platinum (SBGW039)
and finally 18kt Yellow Gold (SGW040).

The other offensive strategy used
in the katana's Karatsu finish was light. In battle, the reflection of the sun
off the blade could easily blind enemies. Seiko applied this to the timepiece
in a very unique way.

Most Grand Seiko's do not have lume
applied to the hands or indices. The reason is that the hands and index markers
are brought to razor sharp edges and then finished using the Zaratsu technique.
As the blade of the Katana would blind enemies with light, the hands and
indices of Grand Seiko will reflect light to increase the legibility and also
give them a sparkle, almost that of a diamond. In dark settings, the hands and
indices will find the smallest amount of light and reflect, making the piece
easily legible. Therfore, there is no need for lume.

To add to the legibility of these
timepieces, Seiko used their High Definition Dual-Curved Sapphire Crystal with
anti-reflective coating. Seiko has a whole optical division that manufactures
high quality lenses for eyewear. They take research and development from the
eyewear division and combine that with their manufacturing of sapphire crystals
to create the finest quality crystal for their timepieces.

Back in 1960, the 3180 movement
found in the Grand Seiko was one of the finest available. For the commemorative
model, it was vital that Seiko used only the finest movement available today.
The 9S64 movement was specially developed for the 130th Anniversary model.
Seiko wanted to keep tradition with a manually wound movement, but as they did
with the original, only use the latest advances in technology.

The 9S64 is a 24 jewel movement
that uses Spron 510 (an in house developed alloy proprietary to Seiko)
mainspring which gives the movement a 72 hour power reserve. This is one of the
longest power reserves on the market for a one-barrel movement.

The escapement is (IMHO) one of the
finest aspects of the movement. Seiko uses MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical
Systems) for the manufacturing of the Escapement Wheel and Pallet Fork. This
engineering allows shapes and designs not possible with traditional methods.
Intense hardness, ultra precise parts with enhanced durability and smoother
surfaces with less abrasion are some of the characteristics associated with
this manufacturing process. Not only does the MEMS technology allow for a
stronger more durable product, but also provides a longer lubricant reserve,
giving the piece a longer length of time before servicing.

The newly developed Spron 610 alloy
is used for the balance spring, giving the timepiece improved shock resistance
and anti-magnetism. This is one of the leading alloys used for a balance wheel
in the industry today.

All mechanical Grand Seiko's are
certified and tested to -3 to +5 seconds a day accuracy and are issued with
certificates as the original Grand Seiko was. The new 130th Anniversary model
is no exception.

Only 130 of these magnificent
commemorative pieces were produced. There were originally supposed to be around
5 or 6 that came to the US. Unfortunately, that allotment was cut short due to
high demand for the piece in Japan. This is the very 1st piece to come to North
America.

The Platinum (SBGW039)
is scheduled to arrive in Sept. sometime and the Stainless Steel (SBGW033)
is scheduled for Oct. I will post many pictures when they arrive. Most of these
pieces are pre-sold but we do still have some available for reserve. They will
not be around for long. Please feel free to contact us at 1-800-486-3996 for
more information.

Please keep in mind, on Friday,
October 14th, AZ Fine Time will once again be hosting the Grand Seiko Roadshow. We will have a master watchmaker from the Suwa factory
in store building a Grand Seiko timepiece. We will have many of Seiko's staff
here to answer questions in addition to complimentary food, drink and (our
other business) cigars.
It would be a pleasure to get some friends from the forum in attendance. There
is no charge for admission, so please feel free to come by if you can and make
yourselves at home. This is a great opportunity to purchase a Grand Seiko
or Ananta
watch and have the box autographed by the master watchmaker. Please feel free
to contact us for any additional information.

I hope you all enjoyed the read and
thank you very much for your support!

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